


Gwein a Bain

by Lasgalendil



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Sindarin, lana del rey - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:37:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasgalendil/pseuds/Lasgalendil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arwen chooses a mortal life and her love for Aragorn over her kin and her fate of immortality…but she wonders, as all mortal women must, whether their love will endure once the outward beauty of the Evenstar has faded. [Completely singable Sindarin translation of Lana Del Rey's Young and Beautiful]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gwein a Bain

**Author's Note:**

> There are two ways to translate a poem: keep the meaning, or keep the meter. Most translators will err on the side of meaning over meter as it is the meaning of a poem and its cultural relevance that are more important than its rhythm. 
> 
> When translating a song, however, I find it more important to keep the meter intact so it can be sung to the same tune. 
> 
> Dipthongs are pronounced as one syllable:  
> -ui "we"  
> -ei as in "ray"  
> -ai as in "shine"

**Gwein a Bain**

Nin uimelithog

Mas ni ú'wein a mas ni úvain?

Nin uimelithog

Mas chebion únad ach i fëa nîn 'iriel?

Estelion, Estelion,

Estelion i—velithog

Nin uimelithog mas ni úvain egor ni údhail?

Nin uimelithog mas ni úvain egor ni údhail?

Nin uimelithog mas ni ú'wein adh úvain?

 

**Literal Translation:**

Young and Beautiful

Will you still love me

When I'm not young and when I'm not beautiful?

Will you still love me

When I got nothing but my aching soul?

I know, I know

I know that you will love

Will you still love me when I'm not beautiful or not fair?

Will you still love me when I'm not beautiful or not fair?

Will you still love me when I'm not young and beautiful?

**Even more literal translation:**

Young and Beautiful

Me ever-love-will-you

When I (am) not-young and when I (am) not-beautiful?

Me ever-love-will-you

When keep-I no-thing but the soul mine shuddering?

I trust/believe/hope/know, I trust/believe/hope/know

I trust/believe/hope/know that love-will-you

Me ever-love-will-you when I (am) not-beautiful or I (am) not-fair?

Me ever-love-will-you when I (am) not-beautiful or (am) not-fair?

Me ever-love-will-you at-when I (am) not-young and not-beautiful?

**No one is this effing literal translation:**

Gwein (adj.; singular) "young"

A (conj.) "and"

Bain (adj.; singular) "beautiful)

Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"

Ui-(prefix) "ever"

Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"

®Mas (®pron.; relative) A possible reconstruction for the word "when" is ®ias/iase/jas/jase (®pron.; interrogative) or ®mas/mase (®pron.; relative) "in when, in which" all in Common Eldarin. This set was reconstructed by Ryszard Derdzinski. Yet another possibility is ®ir, used once untranslated in an obscure poem fragment but may be related to Quenya irë (conj.) "when", which is not a relative pronoun…but it may also be a mutated plural form of i (art. definite, singular) "the" or a mutated form of i (pron.; relative) "that, who, whom, which". Finally, ®N'i (contraction) of Na (prep.) "at" +i—(pron.; relative, singular) "that, who, whom, which" and translates roughly "at which" was reconstructed by dreamingfifi of Real Elvish dot net.

"Nin uivelithog ®mas ni ú'wein adh ni úvain?"

"Nin uivelithog ®ir ni ú'wein adh ni úvain?"

"Nin uivelithog ®n'i ni ú'wein adh ni úvain?"

Will you still love me when I (am) not young and I (am) not beautiful

All of these are common reconstructed Sindarin uses and equally understandable (if not acceptable or preferable) to most Sindarin reconstructionists. I personally find the final Na i ni or N'i ni to be an awkward phrase. Ir ni or Mas ni are much more aesthetically pleasing.

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

[Na- (v.; unconjugated stem) "to be". This verb is not vocalized in any tenses in Sindarin save imperative *no (v.; imperative) "be!" The reader/hearer is left to context to determine of the writer/speaker intends a phrase to be present, past, or future tense.]

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Gwein (adj.; singular) mutates to *'wein following a noun "young"

A (conj.) "and"

®Mas (®pron.; relative)

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun "beautiful"

Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"

Ui-(prefix) "ever"

Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"

®Mas (®pron.; relative)

Heb- (v.; unconjugated stem) changes to *hebion (v.; first person singular present tense) and mutates to *chebion "I have, I keep"

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Nad (n.; singular) "thing"

Ach (conj.) "but, yet"

i (art.; definite, singular) "the"

fea (n.; singular) "soul"

nîn (pron.; first person singular possessive) "my, mine"

Gir- (v.; unconjugated stem) changes to *giriel (v.; present active participle) and mutates to *'iriel "shuddering"

®Esteli- (v.; unconjugated stem.) created by David Salo from attested estel (n.; singular) "to hope" changes to *estelion (v.; first person singular present tense) "I hope, I trust, I have a temper of mind, steady fixed in purpose, and difficult to dissuade and unlikely to fall into despair or abandon its purpose" 

[It's also derived from Estel, her and his mother's name for him. Face it, book Arwen spent 50+ years weaving a tapestry worthy of the heir of Númeanor in the hopes that one day they would be wed, then has harsh words with Elrond in Rohan of which Tolkien only tells us "None saw her last meeting with Elrond her father, for they went up into the hills and there spoke long together, and bitter was their parting that should endure beyond the ends of the world." Fuck Movie!Arwen who leaves him behind because daddy told her to. I love Liv Tyler, and the blame falls on Peter, Phillipa and Fran for making her character so weak and one-sided.]

i— (pron.; relative, singular) "that, who, whom, which"

Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) and mutates to *velithog as it is the subject of a relative clause "You will love"

Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"

Ui-(prefix) "ever"

Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"

®Mas (®pron.; relative)

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun or a prefix "beautiful"

Egor (conj.) "or"

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Dail (adj.; singular) mutates to *dhail as it follows a noun "lovely, fair"

Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"

Ui-(prefix) "ever"

Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"

®Mas (®pron.; relative)

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun or a prefix "beautiful"

Egor (conj.) "or"

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Dail (adj.; singular) mutates to *dhail as it follows a noun "lovely, fair"

Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"

Ui-(prefix) "ever"

Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will love"

Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Gwein (adj.; singular) mutates to *'wein following a noun or a prefix "young"

A (conj.) mutates to *adh before a vowel "and"

®Mas (®pron.; relative)

Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"

Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun or a prefix "beautiful" _ **  
**_

* * *

We can also give her a more Noldorin accent as there were many Exilic Noldor living in Rivendell, and Elrond was fostered by the sons of Fëanor after the Third Kin-slaying:

**Gwein ar Bain**

Nin uimelithog

Ir ni ú'wein ar ir ni úvain?

Nin uimelithog

Ir chebion únad ach i fëa nîn 'iriel?

Estelion, Estelion,

Estelion i—velithog

Nin uimelithog ir ni úvain egor ni údhail?

Nin uimelithog ir ni úvain egor ni údhail?

Nin uimelithog mas ni ú'wein ar úvain?

 


End file.
